I had forgotten how much I love the CDs. We had a lot of fun listening to them. After a couple of songs of Veggie Tales Bob asks Larry where someone is and Larry replied, "Don't know, should of been here by now!" I started laughing because it reminded me that last year Rehm and Charlotte thought this was the funniest thing ever and it got to the point that any time anyone said "I don't know" the rest of the family would pipe up with "should of been here by now!" This continued well into the spring and made me chuckle every time I heard it. Charlotte will still remember occassionally even in the summer.

This silly little thing just reminded me of the silly traditions families develop that become part of their family identity. I wonder who will start the "should of been her by nows" this year and what new Christmas traditions will be established.

Oh and we have a new family dinner tradition. As soon as the last person prays (usually 2 or more children want to pray at dinner) it is a race to see who can be the first one to say "Bon apetit!" Again just a silly little Mayhem Mania family tradition.

Hopefully my kids will remember these things fondlywhen they grow up.

So what kind of fun family traditions does your family have? Leave a comment and share them - I might get some good ideas.

My girls have picked up on something one of their younger cousins says. Jack can't pronounce everything exactly right so one day when he announced that his mother should be mother of the year, it came out "muzzer of the rear." Now we use that to describe moments of bad parenting. If I do something they don't like they call me muzzer of the rear and we all wind up laughing. :)

Our Cast

This is what happens when two math geeks marry and have four kids!

JennI am a stay at home mom. I love to quilt, sew, craft, blog and read. Sometimes I love to cook, sometimes I hate it, mostly because no one will help with menu planning but everyone complains about what I serve. I hate doing laundry and dishes. I love a good novel, but am not much of a non-fiction or literature reader . I love animals and rescue. In addition to our four two-legged kids, we also have three four-legged kids, plus an extra long term four-legged guest. Having a foster dog or two is not that unusual for us as I am a sucker for an animal in need. I love my kids and being a mom, except for when I want to run away from it all. In my next life I would like a clean house.

MichaelOur crazy leader. He loves all things Texas A&M (whoop!), college football, good beer, coaching kids sports, and his family. He even loves his wife enough to put up with all her crazy ideas, pets, and foster pets.

Sam-I-AmOur firstborn Samuel Frank who died at birth in 1999. He was our gorgeous, curly, red-headed baby boy. He may not be with us on earth but he is still a big part of our family. We miss every day and love him very much.

Le PresidentOur oldest son Rehm. He is my walking encyclopedia. He loves politics, band, scouts, friends, school, learning, debating, leadership, and being right about everything, even when he's not. We affectionately call him Captain Oblivious because if there is something happening that he is not the center of he is completely clueless. He is currently binge watching The West Wing and mad that we didn't clue him in to the show ages ago. He only likes to read non-fiction, which I really don't understand.

LatteOur oldest daughter. She is the most empathetic girl I know. She loves school, swim, dancing (even though she doesn't take lessons but will be part of the middle school team in the fall), performing, and all things social. She is loud and dramatic, mostly in a good way. She hates riding long distances in the car. She is as stubborn as her mother, especially when dealing with her mother.

RubyliciousOur feisty second daughter. She is very dramatic. Her world is one of extremes. There is never any doubt about how Ruby feels about something or someone. She loves gymnastics, reading, friends, arts and crafts, making a mess, and her pets. Ruby is currently reading the Beverly Cleary Ramona series and the Junie B. Jones books.

DirtOur cautious third daughter. She is very sensitive and likes to do things in her own way and own time. She loves to play sports, any kind of competition, getting dirty, being tough, reading, playing with the neighbors, being in the middle of the action, choir, and scouts. She dislikes change of any kind for any reason. Eliza Claire is currently reading the Little House on the Prairie series and just finished the Percy Jackson series.